Blackhawks take down Shiloh again

’Hawks get home for the playoffs

The regular season has ended, and the big show begins.

The Blackhawks took home a very satisfying win over the private school boys last week, coming from behind to ultimately win the game on Cody Edwards' 30-yard field goal 24-21. The win catapulted the 'Hawks into the second seed also giving them some momentum and confidence going into the first round of the playoffs which will begin Friday with the Truman Wildcats coming to town.

The 'Hawks ended in a three-way tie with Gravette and Shiloh so I thought the AAA tiebreaker point system as published on the AA site would come into play. Shiloh had 12 tiebreaker points in their win over Gravette, Gravette has 10 tiebreaker points as a result of their win over Pea Ridge and Pea Ridge had three tiebreaker points with their win over Shiloh. The point system seemed to me award Shiloh the second seed, with Gravette's win over Pea Ridge giving them the third seed, making the 'Hawks having to do it on the road with the fourth seed. The AAA brackets came out Saturday, and they weren't like I thought they would be. This is one time I'm really happy to be wrong.

For awhile Friday night, it looked like Pea Ridge and Shiloh would be alone in second place, with Gentry leading Gravette 30-28 late into the fourth quarter. Had Gravette lost the game, the second place conference seeding would have just been between Shiloh and Pea Ridge, with the 'Hawks' head to head victory automatically earning the coveted second seed. The Lions' Jordan Burnett scored on a 4-yard run with 2:20 left for the final margin of victory, although the Pioneers almost pulled out a last second comeback. Gentry got a man open to score as time ran out but the Lions committed pass interference to stop the play. The penalty gave the Pioneers one play from the 6-yard line as the clock was at 0:00, but they couldn't connect and Gravette escaped with the win.

If Pea Ridge had gotten the fourth seed, they would not have had a home game for any of the playoffs. Getting the second seed in the upper part of the bracket, they are in line to host the first two games, if they can win the opening contest. They even have a shot at hosting the quarter-final game as well with the way the brackets are drawn up.

How good is Trumann? They finished 6-4, 3-4 in conference play in a not particularly tough conference. Their biggest handicap is having just a 24-man roster, which means their best players will not be leaving the field much. Statistics are hard to come by so I don't know what they do for an offense, but they have lit it up on occasion. The 'Hawks will probably be the consensus favorites to win the game, but being high school, anything can happen.

If they get by Trumann, they will host either Gravette or Robinson in the second round. We know how good Gravette is, but just how good is Robinson? They finished their season 8-2, with their victory margin more than 42 points per game in their wins. They lost to MaxPreps 4A state No. 1 ranked Dardanelle 42-20, and they were nipped by Pottsville 28-27 the week after their loss to the Sand Lizards. They whipped a very good Central Arkansas Christian team 55-35, and they also beat down Rogers Heritage 43-22, our 7A class neighbor to the south.

Robinson is led by a pair of seniors, quarterback Brennen Johnson and tailback T.J. Hammond. Both athletes are 5'11" with Johnson tipping the scales at 185 pounds with Hammond weighing 200 pounds. Johnson has passed for 1,662 yards and rushed for 659 more, accounting for 24 touchdowns. Hammond has rushed for over 1,000 yards himself, scoring eight times.

The Senators average more than 400 yards per game with 60 percent through the air and the other 40 percent on the ground, a fairly balanced attack. Johnson has passed to 11 different receivers, with his prime target being Nathan Page who has caught 31 passes for 609 yards.

Defensively, Robinson depends more on height and speed than it does weight. Tonda Bullock (6'2", 186 lbs.) leads the team with tackles for losses with 13 from his free safety position, with lineman Hunter Swoboda (6'3", 188 lbs.) leading the team in total tackles with 84. Second in tackles with 78 and anchoring the line is David Porter (6'3", 235 lbs.) who plays defensive end, defensive tackle and offensive guard.

If Robinson has a weakness, it may be in their depth, with only a 47-man roster. With so many blowout victories, the Senators haven't faced a lot of pressure this season. It would appear than many of Robinson's best athletes will play offense and defense. with all their offensive talents recording a lot of tackles.

It will take a supreme effort for Gravette to get by Robinson. If the Senators get past Gravette, they will be coming to Pea Ridge to play a team that has been steadily getting better as the season has progressed. The fact that they got behind Shiloh 14-0 after only three offensive plays by their Springdale rivals, then came back to outscore them 24-7 the rest of the way on Shiloh's home field says volumes about their character.

As I am neither a coach nor a player, I have the luxury of looking down the road to a possible quarter-final opponent. The likely survivor of that other sub-bracket will be either Central Arkansas Christian or Malvern, the team that ended the 'Hawks' season last year. Although neither team is ranked ahead of Robinson, I think either one could eliminate the Senators.

CAC and Malvern have both been in the top 10 this year, with CAC taking the 4A-2 crown, albeit in a very weak conference. The other seven members of the Senators' conference, the 4A-2, finished in the bottom half of the state rankings. Malvern finished in a tie with Arkadelphia for fourth in the very tough 4A-7 but won their head to head matchup to get the fourth seed. The winner of the first round matchup of the CAC/Malvern game plays the winner of Gosnell/Lonoke, both mid-level teams.

The 4A-1 will have three other representatives headed to the playoffs, league champ Prairie Grove, third seed Shiloh and fifth finisher Lincoln.

Fourth-ranked Prairie Grove will host Jonesboro Westside this week and will then host the winner of Ashdown/Stuttgart the following week. Ashdown was third in the other power conference 4A-8 and is ranked in the top 10 at eighth. If the Tigers win their first two games, they will likely either be on the road to play Pocahontas in the quarter-finals or host Star City, both top ranked teams.

No. 5 seed Lincoln will have a tough row to hoe by traveling to play undefeated Dardanelle this week. Ranked No. 1 in state in some polls, the Sand Lizards will put an end to the Wolves' season. Meanwhile, third seed Shiloh will get to host a first round game this year with Dover coming to town. This could be a good game, with the teams similar in the rankings. Dover is ranked No. 14 in the state with Shiloh just ahead in the No. 13 spot. Whoever wins, the odds are that they will have to make the long trip to Nashville to play in the next round, Nashville was the the 4A-7 champion and has been ranked No. 1 in state.

4A-1 Conference final standings

1. Prairie Grove 7-0

2. Pea Ridge 5-2

Shiloh 5-2

Gravette 5-2

5. Lincoln 3-4

6. Huntsville 2-5

7. Gentry 1-6

8. Berryville 0-7

MaxPreps/CBS 4A state rankings

MaxPreps has a new number one, with Dardanelle easing past Nashville to claim the top spot. Dardanelle's victory over boosted its power rating to 37.1, just ahead of Nashville's 35.6 tabulation.

MaxPreps, a part of CBS Sports, has developed a state by state polling service using scores, won and loss records, and strength of schedule to determine how good a team is with a computer algorithm. An example of how this works is comparing a team like Warren with another team like Pocahontas.

Warren is 9-1 but ranks ahead of undefeated 10-0 Pocahontas, and a big part of that is strength of schedule. Warren has the state's toughest 4A schedule with a plus 10.5 rating. Pocahontas, on the other hand, has the weakest schedule among all 4A schools with its rating negative 12.6. Last year, the teams had similar power numbers before the playoffs. Warren then averaged 40 points a game through the playoffs to win the state championship, with Pocahontas averaging just 15 points in two games, getting knocked out of the playoffs in the second round. The two most likely state finalists for the betting public in 2015 would be Warren and Dardanelle, who if they meet, won't meet until the state final.

Pea Ridge is on the Warren side of the bracket, but won't meet the defending state champion until the state semi-finals. The Blackhawks, due to their big win last week at Shiloh, moved up to two spots No. 17 on the MaxPreps State Rankings. Shiloh dropped three spots to No. 16, with Huntsville the other gainer, going from 37th to 36th. Gravette, Lincoln, Gentry and Berryville all went down from last week.

MaxPreps Top 10

Nov. 8, 2015

1. Dardanelle 10-0

2. Nashville 10-0

3. Warren 9-1

4. Prairie Grove 9-1

5. Robinson 8-2

6. Pocahontas 10-0

7. Central Arkansas 9-1

8. Fountain Lake 7-3

9. Pottsville 7-3

10. Hamburg 8-2

16. Shiloh 6-3

17. Pea Ridge 8-2

19. Gravette 7-3

35. Lincoln 4-6

36. Huntsville 3-6

40. Gentry 3-6

47. Berryville 2-7

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Editor's note: John McGee is an award-winning columnist and sports writer. He can be contacted through The Times at [email protected].

Sports on 11/11/2015